Wall construction and building block for the same



C. J. DEXTER WALL CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE SAME April 21, 1925.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1923 April :21, 1925. v 1,534 060 c. J. DEXTER WALL CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE SAME Filed April 25, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 O- J- Damien.

A attouwqt Patented Apr. 21, 1925,.

UNITED STATE CARL J. DEXTER, or wns'r LAFAYETTE, INDIANA.

WALL CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING BLOCK FOR THE SAIVIE.

Application filed April 25, 1523. Serial No. 634,568.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, CARL J. Dux'rnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vest Lafayette, in the county of Tippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in all Con structions and Building Blocks for the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a building material consisting of building blocks furnished ready for erecting walls of any description, and these blocks are intended to supply a building material which is cheaper, more adaptable, and more satisfactory than such blocks at present on the market.

The main object of the invention is to provide solid building blocks with which to construct hollow walls.

These building blocks may be made of concrete, terra cotta, or other similar material and are preferably furnished in half-block sections, that is to say, if ordinary building blocks are made in sizes of five inches thick by eight inches high and sixteen inches long, my block would require two sections to make up a block ofthe ordinary size.

Some of the advantages attained by the use of the building blocks forming the subj ect matter of the present invention may here be enumerated First, maximum strength is obtained for the amount of material used:

one type of blocks;

7 Third, solid walls may be quickly erected by the elimination of molding frames, and hollow walls of any desired thickness may be built with these blocks and the intervening space filled with concrete if desired;

Fourth, by means of these building blocks a deeper wall construction is obtained, which affords a continuous air space without any cross contact, overcomingv the objection to ordinary blocks or solid brick construction, considered to collect-dampness;

Fifth, the saving in material by using these building blocks as compared with ordinary construction amounts to from '15 to 25 per cent:

Sixth, the simplicity of thebuilding block will insure a more rapid production than with various other kinds of blocks now on the market;

Seventh, the light weight of this building block, being less than half of an ordinary block, will greatly facilitate the handling durlng transportation, as well as during the erection of building Eighth, for low walls, not requiring mu ch strength, such as for garages and similar buildings, as well as partitions in large buildings, the single block wall can be used with great saving in cost of construction; and

Ninth, for blocks of more than ordinary thickness the blocks may be laid to permit the insertion of ties and reinforcements to great advantage, and the continuous hollow space between the half sections of the building blocks will afford convenient housing for wiring and pipes.

These blocks are planned to be laid to form walls with one half inch mortar joints for both horizontal and vertical contacts and the inner faces of each block section is provided with undulations which fit exactly in corresponding undulations in the other half section of the block, In this manner the ninimum thickness of the wall formed by the two half sections of block contacting with their inner races would be five inches, while the height would be eight inches and the length sixteen inches including the mortar joints, or, in other words, the vertical dimension of each half section would be seven and one half inches, while its length dimension would be fifteen and one half inches,

The blocks may be produced with various kinds of outer faces such as stone finish, smooth finish, and any other finish required, and for stucco work, the outer block faces would be grooved or serrated for receiving the plaster or stucco thereon.

Besides blocks of the above given dimensions, half blocks and quarter blocks may also be made.

In some instances it may be desirable to furnish the top and bottom sides as well as the ends of the building blocks with a surrounding groove,'which would vary in width and possibly with a connecting passage running in vertical direction between the top and bottom grooves. In this manner, the layers for the blocks may be placed directly one upon the other with their straight faces contacting, and also with their ends abutting, and then liquid cement poured in the passages and grooves, which, in this manner, would firmly connect the upper and lower layers as well as the blocks placed side by side. In other words, a continuous core connecting all the blocks within the wall would be formed, which would provide an extremely strong construction as well as a quick erection of the walls.

In the accompanying drawings, the subject matter of the present invention has been illustrated, and

Figure 1 shows a half section of a block;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a wall constructed with the blocks;

Figure 3 is a front elevation, partly in section,,of block used in the wall shown in Figure 2;

Figure f is a transverse sect-ion along line -il4t of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the blccksshown in Figures 2, 3 and 4i;7and

Figure 6 is a top plan View, showing a block adapted for the application of plaster or stucco.

As already stated the blocks are made up of complemental sections. One such block section 15 is shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. This block section shown with plain top and bottom surfaces 16 and 11" and plain end surfaces 18. The face or front side of he block section runs at right angles to the horizontal and end faces of the block section and may be plain or provided with corrugations21 or nay be roughened as at 20, in order to adapt it for holding plaster or stucco 34, see Figure 6.

The inner surface of the block section is undulated in the length directionthereof, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4t, and the undulations may be formed of circular or other arcs 21 with alternating convex and concave par s forming a uniform wave with the arcs rimming tangentially to each other; or the undulations may be otherwise designed forminga wave with alternating convex and concave parts. The height of the convex portion and the depth. of the concave part are uniform in the complemental block sections, so that RCCOHilH 'lY the thinnest portions, as at 22, of each block section are identical, and the thickest portions,-as at 23, in the block sections are also identical. in this manner, the opposing undulating surfaces of two sections will fit together, the endsprefenahh terminating along a perpendicular line through the middle of the convex wave poition, as clearly seen in Figure 1.

In a wall constructed with these block sections, the block sections are placed with their undulating surfaces opposite each other and if a hollow wall construction is intended, the block sect-ions have to be separated a suitable distance, indicated by the undulating spaces 2 1 running from end to end of the wall in each course or layer hereof. The thickest portion of one block section ist'then placed against thethinnest portion of the complementary block section and with the joints 25 staggered, as best seenin Figured 3 With the smooth faced block section shown, the coursesarelaid in the usual man ner, after a layer of mortar has first been spread on the top of a lower course, the joints 25 at the ends of theblock sections are also provided with mortar during the course of erection, and the building continued as usual. If a solid wall is desired, the space 24 may also be filled with mortar, or, the undulating surfaces of the block-sections may be placed close together without any such space 24. For thicker walls, this space may be widened and tie rods 26 placed across the space2a atsuitable intervals, as indicated inhigurefi.

It will thus be seen that instead of making the bricks hollow, these solid, sections may now he set up to provide air space between them, and this space maybe utilized for housing electric wiring andpiping if so desired,in which case, the wiring and piping will be entirely concealed andperfec'tly protected. a

For quick erection, the block sections 37 may be providedwith grooves 27, as indi cated in Figures 2, 3, 1 and These grooves 27 run along the top and bottom surfaces of the sections. These grooves are preferably deeper in the middle of each block section and at each end thereof, and slightly shallower at the intermediary points, as at 28. The top and bottom grooves may be connected by a perpendicular passage 29in the middle of each block section, and having preferably an elliptical contour. The ends of each block section mayal'so be provided with connecting paSSagesBO, with a half elliptical contour. a

As best seen in Figures 4; and 5, the inner sides of the groove are taperin downwardly, as at 38,,and form side wal s 31 of uniform thickness, that is to say, the side wall along the front face of each section is perfectly straight, while the wall along the undulating surface of the block section runs parallel thereto. However, the ends of these walls 31may be reinforced, as at 39, in order to provide additional strength atv these points. i

It will now be evident that in, erecting a wall with the block sections indicated in Figures 2, 8 and 5, this can be done in a very short time and even quicker than casting concrete walls as no mold is needed,

which would first have tobe set up, and rei moved after the concrete has hardened. As best seen in Figures 2 and 4, the courses are set up directly with the top and bottom faces of the block sectionsabutting without anyintervening mortar joint, such joints also being eliminated atfitheendsof the sections.

block sections. Directly one course has been set up, liquid cement, as at i0, is poured into the same through the passages 29 and 30, which cement will then run down into the next layer or course and bind not only the courses together firmly after the cement has hardened, but also cross connecting the block This pouring of the cement continues until the just laid course is about half filled. This is done for the purpose that the cement in the previously laid course may have had time to harden. A core is then formed which will bind two adjacent courses firmly together. It will now be seen that the block sections thus form a mold for the cement so that no time will be lost in setting up the mold or taking it down again after the cement has hardened.

In Figures 2 and 4:, a solid wall has been indicated, but it is evident that the complemental block sections may be placed apart in the same. manner to form a continuous air space between them.

Reference numeral 32 represents a shallow depressionor recess in the block sections, which is intended to receive a tie rod 33 to bind the block sections together transversely.

In Figure 6 is shown a wall having block sections with corrugated or roughened front or rear faces 20 for receiving plaster or stucco 34.

As these grooved block sections abut on all sides with the adjacent sections, except possibly along the undulating surfaces, and no mortar being used at the joints, a suitable size for these block sections would be eight inches high and sixteen inches long. It will be evident that in laying these blocks, care has to be taken that each course is perfectly level, as any unevenness would cause the walls to become crooked. It will now be clearly understood that much time is gained by avoiding the placing of mortar on the tops and ends of the blocks with the resultant reduction in cost of labor. These jointless walls are particularly well suited for stuccoed or plastered buildings and the faces of the block sections will, for this reason, preferably be provided with corrugations, or roughened in any other suitable manner to be adapted to receive the plaster or stucco.

In building very thick walls, it may be preferable to place the block sections with the swells or convex portions 23 opposite each other and contacting or separated. In this manner, oval shaped vertical spaces may be formed at intervals within the walls,-

which may be still more suitable for placing piping and wiring therein. If no such space is desired it may be filled with mortar or liquid cement.

The grooved block sections illustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, may also be set up with mortar joints between them; and in such a case, the pouring of the cement into the grooves and vertical passages would take place after the mortar joints have been formed.

In order to make the use of the building blocks as general as possible it is some times advantageous to provide the plain blocks illustrated in Figure 1 with end passages of half elliptical or other suitable contour similar, to those shown at 30 in Figure 5. In laying the courses, the horizontal mortar joints are formed very easily and rapidly by the use of mortar gages, but the vertical oint takes considerable more time. Thus if the plain blocks are provided with end passages 30, their use might be much more adaptable for certain kinds of work, particularly in long unbroken walls.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A building block comprising complemental sections having their adjacent surfaces correspondingly undulated, their exterior surfaces plain and flat, and their top and bottom surfaces provided with lengthwise running grooves of trapezoidal cross section.

2. A building block comprising complemental sections having their adjacent surfaces correspondingly undulated, their exterior surfaces plain and flat, and their top and bottom surfaces provided with lengthwise running, fiat bottomed grooves, said grooves having inwardly tapering side faces and walls of substantially uniform width.

3. A building block comprising complemental sections having their adjacent surfaces correspondingly undulated, their eX- terior surfaces plain and flat and their top and bottom surfaces provided with lengthwise running grooves of trapezoidal cross section, and vertically directed channels connecting said grooves.

i. In a wall construction using block sections of the class described in claim 1; a course comprising a series of said block sections interlocking with their undulating surfaces.

5. In a wall construction using block sections of the class described in claim 3, a course comprising a series of'said block sections interlocking with their undulating surfaces, said grooves and channels being filled with cement.

6. A building block comprising complemental sections having their adjacent surfaces correspondingly undulated. their exterior surfaces plain and flat and their end surfaces provided with perpendicularly running concave recesses, said undulatecl surfaces consisting of alternating convex and concave arcs running tangentially to each other.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature- GARL J. DEXTER. [L. s.] 

